Legacy of Allies
by E Kelly
Summary: Two old friends on their children's wedding day.


Disclaimer: All characters are the property of DC Comics. This is not for money.  
  
Rating: G  
  
Email me - I love comments, good or bad. ekelly1701@aol.com  
  
  
  
Legacy of Allies  
  
By E Kelly  
  
  
"Thou hast great allies;  
Thy friends are exultations, agonies,  
And love, and man's unconquerable mind."  
  
-William Wordsworth to Toussaint L'Ouverture, 1807  
  
  
"This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship."  
  
- Humphrey Bogart to Claude Rains, 1942  
  
  
  
Despite all efforts to keep the guest list small, the Manor was packed. Neither Dick nor Barbara had been too excited about the full press barrage so an exclusive was negotiated. The only two reporters in attendance were Clark Kent and Lois Lane, which had royally annoyed all the local journalists, but there really wasn't much they could do - they still had to run the story. They couldn't even be snide about it, since the groom was the Wayne heir and the bride was the daughter of an (almost) universally loved GCPD hero.  
  
Jim Gordon peered out the French doors, checking the sky before escaping onto the balcony. He wondered briefly what strings had been pulled to keep the tabloid helicopters from buzzing the party. Then he thought about what strings it was possible to pull for these particular nuptials and ceased wondering. Sighing in relief to get away from the crowd for a minute, he loosened his tie and moved to the wide stone ledge. He didn't turn right away when he heard a very deliberate step behind him.  
  
"Jim."  
  
The slightest of smiles touched his mouth under his thick moustache, "Bruce."  
  
The younger, taller man came to stand beside him as they both looked out over the grounds. It was the first moment in a long day of social obligations that either man had had a chance to relax. Jim noted that the usual bland smile Wayne carried on his face was absent, replaced by a somewhat more somber and thoughtful expression.  
  
"Quite a day," Bruce said. "Who would have thought they'd end up together?"  
  
Jim snorted, "Saw it coming from miles away."  
  
"I guess that's the advantage of being a detective," Bruce replied mildly.  
  
Jim looked at him for a moment, then reached into the inner pocket of his tux. He produced two thick cigars and held one out to Bruce, who took it without comment. Jim brought out a gold butane lighter, engraved with a GCPD shield, flicked it open and struck it.  
  
"So," he said, watching Bruce carefully over the flame, "you and I are family now."  
  
Bruce's eyes met his. Jim thought he saw the tiniest hint of a smile on his face, "So we are."  
  
"I have to admit," Jim said, lighting his own stogie and puffing thoughtfully on it for a minute, "that's the part I'm trying to get used to."  
  
"Oh?" Bruce said, one eyebrow raising slightly.  
  
"Sure," Jim replied, smiling. "I'm just a poor working joe - now my grandkids are going to be heirs to the largest fortune in Gotham. It's a bit of an adjustment."  
  
"I suppose so." Bruce leaned casually on the balcony's ledge and gazed out, toward the city, "It doesn't bother you? Your daughter marrying - a cop?"  
  
Jim frowned a bit, "No. Why would it?"  
  
When he answered, Bruce spoke slowly, "Because fathers often hope their children won't have to go through the ... struggles they went through." He looked closely at the older man, "It's not an easy life."  
  
"No - but then it never was," Jim was amused, even more so when he saw a scowl flash briefly across Bruce's face. "You don't like Dick being a cop, do you?"  
  
"It's not the first profession I would have chosen for him."  
  
"Not really a proper job for the son of a blueblood, huh?" Jim nodded sagely without a hint of offense. "But then, Dick's not just the son of a blueblood, is he?"  
  
There was a short pause as both men turned to watch shadows pass on the other side of the curtained doors, loud laughter and muffled voices sounding.  
  
"Like Barbara's not just the daughter of a cop," Jim went on as they resumed their watch of the grounds. "That's something you and I have always had in common - raising children born into one life but brought up in another." He chewed on his cigar meditatively for a moment. "It's easy to get stuck focusing on the tragedies and trials of their lives, wishing they'd never had to go through them." Jim leaned on his elbows, holding up the cigar and contemplating it. "But, I've come to believe that living such a - double life has been a blessing." He turned to look Bruce in the eye. "At least it has been for Barbara," he said seriously, holding the other man's gaze. "It's made all the difference in the world. Sometimes, I wish I knew who to thank for that."  
  
"Thank her," Bruce said quietly. "She's an extraordinary woman."  
  
"That she is," Jim agreed gruffly, nodding. Then he cleared his throat, "You didn't do too bad by that boy of yours either. You might not like him being a policeman, but I think it says a lot for him. When you consider how he grew up - there was absolutely no need for him to choose a profession that put him in harm's way, yet he did. And I'll tell you one thing - it does old officers like me good to know there's young men like him coming up behind us. Men who know what 'to protect and to serve' truly means. I can't think of anyone who understands that better than Dick." Jim gripped the cigar between his teeth and said slowly, as if just remembering something, "Well... maybe - I do know... one," and he looked out towards the city lights, just beginning to glow in the gathering twilight, grinning to himself around the stogie. "But just one," he said softly. Then he looked back at Bruce, "You've got a lot to be proud of in your son."  
  
"I am - very proud of him," Bruce said in a low voice.  
  
Jim suddenly laughed, and the sound had a touch of wonder to it, "Can you imagine what the two of them are going to be able to accomplish together?" He shook his head, "It's almost frightening. My daughter - and your son. That's some legacy ... for the both of us." His grin broadened as he watched the chiseled lines of Bruce's face soften and a slow smile break across his features.  
  
The two men stood quietly, side by side, for a long moment, staring off toward Gotham.  
  
"Funny how these things turn out, isn't it, Jim?"  
  
"It just goes to show, you never know when you start some things, where they'll end up leading."  
  
The two men glanced at each other at exactly the same moment. Bruce raised an eyebrow.  
  
Jim just smiled.  
  
*finis*  



End file.
